Town of Dunkirk elected officials have some reasons to be annoyed. City of Dunkirk officials have proposed upping the cost for police patrols in and around the town for 2025. All the while, calls from town leaders to Dunkirk City Hall are not being returned.

But there is a bigger picture that is simply this: town residents are getting a deal in terms of policing. In 2024, the town paid about $2,000 per month for patrols. This year, the city wants $2,580 per month. That’s an increase of more than $6,000 for the year — for a total of $30,960.

Obviously, the increase and lack of return calls has upset elected town officials. “Was I personally offended that they didn’t get back to me?” town Supervisor Priscilla Penfold said. “Well, I didn’t like it. I felt like maybe we weren’t important enough.”

In a sense, the city has been patrolling the town as a courtesy — not to make money. Consider, alone, the cost of the Dunkirk Police Department budget for this year. It is more than $3.8 million.

Town officials think they’re getting a bad deal for patrols at the $31,000 cost? Hanover and Silver Creek are paying more than $600,000 annually for the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department to actively take care of issues in the town and village.

Considering the population in those municipalities, that’s $85.71 per resident. If the town of Dunkirk is paying $30,960 for city patrols, that’s about $28.21 per resident.

Town officials can believe they are being disrespected in this agreement. But when it comes to the numbers alone, that is far from the truth.